[Lorcan]

36-1.

The UConn train has been derailed yet again in OT in the National Semi-final. This time, Arike Ogwunbale does her best impression of the shot and sends UConn home from Columbus. Notre Dame versus Mississippi State for the national title.

[Lorcan]

36-1.

The UConn train has been derailed yet again in OT in the National Semi-final. This time, Arike Ogwunbale does her best impression of the shot and sends UConn home from Columbus. Notre Dame versus Mississippi State for the national title.

[SamAtoms1980]

Wow.........

Just wow.

[SamAtoms1980]

Wow.........

Just wow.

[PVTree]

Yay!!! Always a joyous nite when Yukon goes down.

Not a Notre Dame fan, but they will be a deserving champion if they can beat MSU. Amazing that they have gotten so far with all the injuries, including Lilly. They lucked out that Stanford was not in their bracket.  :P

[PVTree]

Yay!!! Always a joyous nite when Yukon goes down.

Not a Notre Dame fan, but they will be a deserving champion if they can beat MSU. Amazing that they have gotten so far with all the injuries, including Lilly. They lucked out that Stanford was not in their bracket.  :P

[TheFarm07]

Glad UConn lost, but it almost seems like the law of averages will cause them to win the next 4, considering their recent success. Two years running without a national championship for the Huskies qualifies as an epic drought for them. I don't know if it encourages the field that they are not invincible or makes Geno and co. even more determined next year to win it all.

[TheFarm07]

Glad UConn lost, but it almost seems like the law of averages will cause them to win the next 4, considering their recent success. Two years running without a national championship for the Huskies qualifies as an epic drought for them. I don't know if it encourages the field that they are not invincible or makes Geno and co. even more determined next year to win it all.

[qwerty49]

The Louisville / Miss St game was pretty good until Louisville just ran out of gas with about 5 minutes left in the 4th. They had several superior athletes but Miss St had McGowan and she was the most dominant post I’ve seen in WBB for quite a while, including Griner.

Always good to see UConn come up short. I hate ND but this was the only matchup where I could possibly root for them. Kind of like rooting for the Toejams when they play ND in football. Or for our friends across the bay when they play the Toejams, come to think of it.

[qwerty49]

The Louisville / Miss St game was pretty good until Louisville just ran out of gas with about 5 minutes left in the 4th. They had several superior athletes but Miss St had McGowan and she was the most dominant post I’ve seen in WBB for quite a while, including Griner.

Always good to see UConn come up short. I hate ND but this was the only matchup where I could possibly root for them. Kind of like rooting for the Toejams when they play ND in football. Or for our friends across the bay when they play the Toejams, come to think of it.

[81alum]

Every UConn loss is very good for WBB in general.  And it is very good for my state of mind in particular.

[81alum]

Every UConn loss is very good for WBB in general.  And it is very good for my state of mind in particular.

[BosCard]

I agree, love seeing UConn lose.  A lot of players choose UConn because they just want to win.  Hopefully this shows that you can win at other programs as well.  And it may make me a grinch but happy to see KLS not getting championships after she turned us down.

[BosCard]

I agree, love seeing UConn lose.  A lot of players choose UConn because they just want to win.  Hopefully this shows that you can win at other programs as well.  And it may make me a grinch but happy to see KLS not getting championships after she turned us down.

[qwerty49]

LOL I admit I agree it’s nice to see KLS not getting a championship.

Early in the game Kia Nurse got caught shoving Mabrey in the back with both hands as Mabrey cut by her without the ball. Mabrey hit the floor pretty hard as a result, but bounced back up pretty quickly. I know it happens a lot but that was just a dirty intentional foul and I was surprised Nurse didn’t get a Flagrant on that one.

[qwerty49]

LOL I admit I agree it’s nice to see KLS not getting a championship.

Early in the game Kia Nurse got caught shoving Mabrey in the back with both hands as Mabrey cut by her without the ball. Mabrey hit the floor pretty hard as a result, but bounced back up pretty quickly. I know it happens a lot but that was just a dirty intentional foul and I was surprised Nurse didn’t get a Flagrant on that one.

[81alum]

If this were to happen next year as well (and I dearly hope it does) then I think people will start to talk about UConn as one of those teams that was truly great in the past, and is still good enough to get to the final four with some regularity, but not quite good enough to win it all.  Hmmm, where have we heard that? 

Now the question is whether we would rather have Notre Dame or Mississippii State win?  It was a little sad to see Lili on the Notre Dame bench, unable to play since tearing her ACL on December 31, along with all the other walking wounded (including Briana Turner) for that team.  As much as I hate Notre Dame I have to hand it to Muffet for putting this season together given she had 4 players going down to season ending injuries.  Stunning that it could be done, really. 

Of course the inexplicable eligibility of Jessica Shepard after transferring from Nebraska with no wait time is an enormous part of it.  Notre Dame doesn't come close to being where it is without her.  Romeo at Washington also transferred from Nebraska with no wait time...what is it about players leaving Nebraska?  It is as if the NCAA gives anyone leaving that program asylum status.  Is there something dreadfully wrong in Nebraska that warrants setting aside all the rules to get players out of there?

Does Lili have any eligibility left?  She played in 14 games this year, with the last game being on December 31.  The injury must occur before the second half of the season's schedule, and postseason games count, so she qualifies on that score.  Of course she took a year off, but not for medical reasons--does that affect anything?  I presume she could play next year for Notre Dame if she wants to and if Notre Dame has a scholarship available. 

[81alum]

If this were to happen next year as well (and I dearly hope it does) then I think people will start to talk about UConn as one of those teams that was truly great in the past, and is still good enough to get to the final four with some regularity, but not quite good enough to win it all.  Hmmm, where have we heard that? 

Now the question is whether we would rather have Notre Dame or Mississippii State win?  It was a little sad to see Lili on the Notre Dame bench, unable to play since tearing her ACL on December 31, along with all the other walking wounded (including Briana Turner) for that team.  As much as I hate Notre Dame I have to hand it to Muffet for putting this season together given she had 4 players going down to season ending injuries.  Stunning that it could be done, really. 

Of course the inexplicable eligibility of Jessica Shepard after transferring from Nebraska with no wait time is an enormous part of it.  Notre Dame doesn't come close to being where it is without her.  Romeo at Washington also transferred from Nebraska with no wait time...what is it about players leaving Nebraska?  It is as if the NCAA gives anyone leaving that program asylum status.  Is there something dreadfully wrong in Nebraska that warrants setting aside all the rules to get players out of there?

Does Lili have any eligibility left?  She played in 14 games this year, with the last game being on December 31.  The injury must occur before the second half of the season's schedule, and postseason games count, so she qualifies on that score.  Of course she took a year off, but not for medical reasons--does that affect anything?  I presume she could play next year for Notre Dame if she wants to and if Notre Dame has a scholarship available. 

[Phogge]

Great that the scumbag lost. Has done some inexcusable things and he deserves a lot more failure.

That said, who  cares that an opponent has a 6’9” player coming in? Just take care of your own business, recruit well and play harder. Scout your foe, never be afraid of her.

[Phogge]

Great that the scumbag lost. Has done some inexcusable things and he deserves a lot more failure.

That said, who  cares that an opponent has a 6’9” player coming in? Just take care of your own business, recruit well and play harder. Scout your foe, never be afraid of her.

[BobK]

14 games is more than 30% 81 which is the rule.
That said I have heard rumors.  ND games the system to get Shepard but the rule is 5 years to complete 4.  And the clock starts when you play your first game

[BobK]

14 games is more than 30% 81 which is the rule.
That said I have heard rumors.  ND games the system to get Shepard but the rule is 5 years to complete 4.  And the clock starts when you play your first game

[qwerty49]

True, but McGowan is like a Transformer out there. The Louisville posts were banging away but she was a head taller. I looked at the rosters thinking the Louisville posts were 6-0 or 6-1 and they were 6-3.

I think McGowan is better than Griner offensively.

#2 on Louisville, Hines-Allen, might have been the best all-around athlete out there. At the end of the day their D played hard but Louisville’s shooting deserted them when they needed it the most.

Great that the scumbag lost. Has done some inexcusable things and he deserves a lot more failure.

That said, who  cares that an opponent has a 6’9” player coming in? Just take care of your own business, recruit well and play harder. Scout your foe, never be afraid of her.

[qwerty49]

True, but McGowan is like a Transformer out there. The Louisville posts were banging away but she was a head taller. I looked at the rosters thinking the Louisville posts were 6-0 or 6-1 and they were 6-3.

I think McGowan is better than Griner offensively.

#2 on Louisville, Hines-Allen, might have been the best all-around athlete out there. At the end of the day their D played hard but Louisville’s shooting deserted them when they needed it the most.

Great that the scumbag lost. Has done some inexcusable things and he deserves a lot more failure.

That said, who  cares that an opponent has a 6’9” player coming in? Just take care of your own business, recruit well and play harder. Scout your foe, never be afraid of her.

[terry]

Every UConn loss is very good for WBB in general. 

Yes, exactly.

Go Bulldogs.

[terry]

Every UConn loss is very good for WBB in general. 

Yes, exactly.

Go Bulldogs.

[PVTree]

Call me a grinch too, but love seeing KLS not getting a championship on the floor. When Yukon won her frosh year, she was hurt and didn't play in championship game.

McGowan is very good, but I think Griner was more dominant. Is McGowan even in consideration for POY? How many times did Griner win POY? I'm no fan of Griner, but she was a game-changer, and I don't think McGowan is at the same level.

[PVTree]

Call me a grinch too, but love seeing KLS not getting a championship on the floor. When Yukon won her frosh year, she was hurt and didn't play in championship game.

McGowan is very good, but I think Griner was more dominant. Is McGowan even in consideration for POY? How many times did Griner win POY? I'm no fan of Griner, but she was a game-changer, and I don't think McGowan is at the same level.

[Lorcan]

This season I would say the undisputed POY was A'ja Wilson of South Carolina, I don't think McCowan came even close even though she's been pretty good. In any case, Notre Dame doesn't have a lot of fouls to give, so it's going to be important to get McCowan into early foul trouble.

As for the Nebraska transfers, it's hard to assess the full details of the situation because of the rumours and issues that existed with Connie Yori who was a pretty darn good coach with a great record. It's hard to know what was true about her alleged abuse of players and what was fiction. Given the circumstances, I can understand why the NCAA granted them releases because the mess at Nebraska was caused by the staff there at that time and was not the fault of the student. You have to give Shephard some credit because she did stick around for a year and try to give the new staff a chance, but it just wasn't to be with Amy Williams.

I would think that Lilli is done after this season as she doesn't qualify for a Redshirt, so, hopefully she'll get to go out with a championship. Although, you have to wonder if she had stuck around last year whether she could've gotten one at Stanford. While I understand that hindsight is a beautiful thing, I'm allowed to dream.

Next year will be very interesting to see how several teams develop. Teams like Baylor have Kalani Brown in their swansong, UConn loses significant pieces but reloads, Oregon State adds Destiny Slocum, Oregon adds Erin Boley, loses Lexi Bando but everyone else returns and will be expecting to make it to the final four. Notre Dame only loses Kathryn Westbeld but gains Brianna Turner, Mikayla Vaughan, and others.  We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga.

[Lorcan]

This season I would say the undisputed POY was A'ja Wilson of South Carolina, I don't think McCowan came even close even though she's been pretty good. In any case, Notre Dame doesn't have a lot of fouls to give, so it's going to be important to get McCowan into early foul trouble.

As for the Nebraska transfers, it's hard to assess the full details of the situation because of the rumours and issues that existed with Connie Yori who was a pretty darn good coach with a great record. It's hard to know what was true about her alleged abuse of players and what was fiction. Given the circumstances, I can understand why the NCAA granted them releases because the mess at Nebraska was caused by the staff there at that time and was not the fault of the student. You have to give Shephard some credit because she did stick around for a year and try to give the new staff a chance, but it just wasn't to be with Amy Williams.

I would think that Lilli is done after this season as she doesn't qualify for a Redshirt, so, hopefully she'll get to go out with a championship. Although, you have to wonder if she had stuck around last year whether she could've gotten one at Stanford. While I understand that hindsight is a beautiful thing, I'm allowed to dream.

Next year will be very interesting to see how several teams develop. Teams like Baylor have Kalani Brown in their swansong, UConn loses significant pieces but reloads, Oregon State adds Destiny Slocum, Oregon adds Erin Boley, loses Lexi Bando but everyone else returns and will be expecting to make it to the final four. Notre Dame only loses Kathryn Westbeld but gains Brianna Turner, Mikayla Vaughan, and others.  We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga.

[mbdude]

"We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga."
I wonder if Mitchell's dad returns as a coach.

Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

[mbdude]

"We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga."
I wonder if Mitchell's dad returns as a coach.

Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

[BobK]

I do love UConn fans.  So entitled

[BobK]

I do love UConn fans.  So entitled

[81alum]

"We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga."
I wonder if Mitchell's dad returns as a coach.

Let's hope we get Ohio State at Stanford in the fall. 

[81alum]

"We can all laugh at McGuff's Ohio State without Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga."
I wonder if Mitchell's dad returns as a coach.

Let's hope we get Ohio State at Stanford in the fall. 

[81alum]

Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

I think maybe they did choke a bit.  They are so used to blowing people away I'm not sure they had any experience since a year ago with playing in a tense, close game.  I was shocked by the last 5 minutes of regulation and overtime when they looked like Stanford in the bad old days, passing around the perimeter of a zone ineffectively and then committing turnovers when trying to force the ball inside, or jacking up poor shots as time ran down.  Maybe Notre Dame's zone is just really, really, really good but I don't think so. 

At least it is nice to know that others can have days like that too.

[81alum]

Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

I think maybe they did choke a bit.  They are so used to blowing people away I'm not sure they had any experience since a year ago with playing in a tense, close game.  I was shocked by the last 5 minutes of regulation and overtime when they looked like Stanford in the bad old days, passing around the perimeter of a zone ineffectively and then committing turnovers when trying to force the ball inside, or jacking up poor shots as time ran down.  Maybe Notre Dame's zone is just really, really, really good but I don't think so. 

At least it is nice to know that others can have days like that too.

[TheFarm07]

[quote author=mbdude link=topic=18879.msg227088#msg227088 date=1522536574]
Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

I think maybe they did choke a bit.  They are so used to blowing people away I'm not sure they had any experience since a year ago with playing in a tense, close game.  I was shocked by the last 5 minutes of regulation and overtime when they looked like Stanford in the bad old days, passing around the perimeter of a zone ineffectively and then committing turnovers when trying to force the ball inside, or jacking up poor shots as time ran down.  Maybe Votre Dame's zone is just really, really, really good but I don't think so. 

At least it is nice to know that others can have days like that too.
[/quote]

Since the 2008-09 season, the Huskies are 14-12 in games decided by single digits (320-2 in double digit games--one of those losses was to us at Maples in Dec. 2010 ending their 90-game winning streak) and 0-6 in OT games (including their last 3 national semifinal losses)

[TheFarm07]

[quote author=mbdude link=topic=18879.msg227088#msg227088 date=1522536574]
Reading the UConn board is tough - hundreds of posts about how their players choked; or ND got all the breaks from the refs - were allowed to hack UConn players at will

I think maybe they did choke a bit.  They are so used to blowing people away I'm not sure they had any experience since a year ago with playing in a tense, close game.  I was shocked by the last 5 minutes of regulation and overtime when they looked like Stanford in the bad old days, passing around the perimeter of a zone ineffectively and then committing turnovers when trying to force the ball inside, or jacking up poor shots as time ran down.  Maybe Votre Dame's zone is just really, really, really good but I don't think so. 

At least it is nice to know that others can have days like that too.
[/quote]

Since the 2008-09 season, the Huskies are 14-12 in games decided by single digits (320-2 in double digit games--one of those losses was to us at Maples in Dec. 2010 ending their 90-game winning streak) and 0-6 in OT games (including their last 3 national semifinal losses)